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The County of Simcoe is trying to reassure residents after the Ford government announced plans to dissolve the Region of Peel and re-evaluate other regional governments, including Simcoe.
In a statement, County of Simcoe warden Basil Clarke said that the county is at a different point in its evolution than Peel Region or other regional municipalities.
“Our structure and governance in Simcoe County are different than larger regions across Ontario because many of our smaller municipalities already face budgetary constraints and challenges with service delivery capacity, such as water and wastewater. With more population coming, the benefits of economies of scale are evident. In Simcoe County, there is simply more capacity and more value for household taxes with regional services.”
The County of Simcoe council has formally requested engagement and facilitation with the province on planning and co-ordination of growth-related services at a meeting earlier this year.
On Thursday, the Ford government announced the Region of Peel will be dissolved by January 2025.
This comes as the province revealed its plans to restructure the local and regional governments and convert Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon into single-tier municipalities.
The move comes after a push from Mississauga in the early 2000s by then-mayor Hazel McCallion, with the main concern being the “disproportionately” high level of funding Mississauga had to pour into the region’s coffers for shared services.
The decision came with concerns about how to split up shared regional services and what it means for taxpayers.
News of the split also came with concerns for the future of other regional governments, with the government saying regional facilitators will review the County of Simcoe, among others, to see if lower-tier municipalities can stand on their own without the regional support.
“These facilitators will be tasked with reviewing whether the upper-tier regional government continues to be relevant to the needs of its communities or whether the lower-tier municipalities are mature enough to pursue dissolution,” a government document stated.
The province did not provide a timeline for that process to be completed.
In his statement, Clarke said the county takes a “residents first” approach to governing and works “efficiently” with its two member cities and 16 municipalities.
“From waste services to paramedics and long-term care, road maintenance and social services, these programs are expensive to deliver, and the consolidated expertise at the County level and overall system approach means all municipalities and residents benefit,” he said.
“The County has a tremendous track record of strong governance and service to Simcoe County, and we hope to have further engagement with the Government of Ontario to work with them to identify the most sustainable way forward.”
— with files from Global News’ Colin D’Mello and Isaac Callan
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.